Windlasses are typically used to move heavy weight. One type of windlass, mooring windlasses, are used to pull-in or pay-out mooring lines to moor offshore vessels. Mooring windlasses may be driven by a motor, such as a hydraulic or electrically driven motor.
In some applications, multiple mooring windlasses are used to moor a single offshore vessel. In such applications, provision of a separate drive mechanism, e.g. a hydraulic or electric motor, for each windlass increases the financial costs associated with mooring the offshore vessel.